Verizon Wireless wants proposed USF mobility fund to cover rural 4G partners

Considering how boisterously rural carriers have been complaining about the Universal Service fixed-broadband speed target proposed in the National Broadband Plan,

it’s not surprising that concerns have arisen about the minimum speed suggested for the mobility fund also proposed in the plan. Verizon this week expressed those concerns in a meeting with FCC officials, which the company followed up with a letter to FCC Secretary Marlene H. Dortch.

Verizon officials noted that the mobility fund could help fuel Verizon Wireless efforts to work with rural carriers to bring 4G services to remote high-cost areas. But for that to happen, the scope of the proposed fund would need to be broadened. The National Broadband Plan calls for the mobility fund to help cover the costs of 3G service to remote areas that currently lack 3G.

“The Commission should allow carriers that participate in the [USF] program to use mobility funding to deploy either 3G or 4G,” wrote Verizon Vice President of Federal Regulatory Affairs Tamara Preiss in the letter to the FCC. “There are areas that do not have 3G coverage today that will likely move directly to 4G.”

Verizon previously proposed allowing rural carriers to build out or lease its 4G spectrum as a means of obtaining broader 4G deployment more quickly. If the FCC were to allow the mobility fund to be used for 4G, it could help fund some of the costs for Verizon’s rural partners.

The letter from Preiss also expressed support for an aspect of proposed Universal Service reforms that has not been popular with rural carriers--a plan to award USF funding based on a competitive bidding process. “We indicated that a competitive bidding approach will maximize the potential to gain useful knowledge about the cost of wireless broadband deployment and how to tailor support conditions,” Preiss wrote.